Germany, France fail to reach Olympics

LONDON (AP) - Germany and France have failed to qualify for next year’s European under-21 tournament and are now out of contention for a spot in the 2012 Olympic men’s soccer tournament.

Despite beating Northern Ireland 3-0 on Wednesday, defending European under-21 champion Germany finished third in Group Five behind the Czech Republic and Iceland.

France missed out for the third consecutive time, finishing third in Group Eight behind Ukraine and Belgium. The 1988 under-21 champions already had been eliminated when they concluded qualifying with a 2-0 win over Malta.